The Lions of Taranga on Fire!
Holders Senegal were the second team to book their place in the round of 16 after proving too hot for West African rivals, Cameroon to handle in Yamoussoukro. Ismalia Sarr opened the scoring after a catastrophic mistake by Manchester United goalkeeper, Andre Onana.
Goal scorer, Sarr then turned provider in the 71st minute when his beautiful cross was met by Habib Diallo who added the second goal for the Lions of Taranga. A gentle breeze of hope must have been felt through Rigobert Song’s technical area when Jean-Charles Castelletto pulled one goal back for Cameroon in the 83rd minute but former Liverpool star striker, Sadio Mane shattered hearts in Yaoundé after adding a third goal for Senegal in the dying minutes of the game.
Should Samuel Eto’o let Rigobert Song go?
The Indomitable Lions certainly felt the absence of Bryan Mbeumo and Vincent Aboubakar. Aboubakar, who has 97 caps and has taken part in three previous AFCON tournaments, failed to recover his fitness for the showdown with Senegal while Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo still recovers from Ankle surgery. Perhaps the presence of these two stars could have made a difference to Cameroon’s Afcon 2023 fortunes. With one goal and one point in Group C, local fans and journalists are questioning the expertise of Coach Rigobert Song.
The legendary former captain is widely believed to have secured his managerial role due to the fantastic relationship he enjoys with Iconic striker, Samuel Eto who was elected the president of the Cameroonian FA in 2021. Nicknamed “Big Chief” by Turkish fans, Rigorbet Song replaced Toni Conceição as the manager of the Cameroon national team in 2022. Since taking over, Cameroon has failed to advance to the second round at the Qatar World Cup and has struggled to impress at Coted’Ivoire 2023. The current team appear to lack the grit, determination, power and pure talent of the Cameroonian side that beat the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Lagos to become the year 2000 African Champions.
Samuel Eto appeared to be disappointed as he watched The Indomitable Lions lose to a more dominant pride. There is no doubt the former Barcelona forward must have been thinking of positive changes that must be made to bring Cameroonian football back to its glory days. Firing his good friend might not be such a bad idea.
With Senegal winning the group and Guinea on 4 points after beating Gambia 1-0, Cameroon must get their acts together in their last game or face the disgrace of an early elimination.